A known standard for reproducing encoded and compressed AV (audio-video) stream information that has been recorded on an optical disc is the DVD standard. Under the DVD standard, subtitle data are multiplexed with video and audio data in the recorded AV stream information. However, because subtitle data are recorded as image information such as bit maps in the DVD standard, when subtitles are displayed on a large screen, there has been a risk of degraded display quality due to deformed subtitle outlines. Moreover, because the subtitles are recorded as image information, the size, color, and font of the displayed subtitles cannot be changed on the basis of user input.
These problems are addressed by a known type of video reproducing apparatus in which text subtitle stream information, in which character code information is multiplexed, is recorded together with AV stream information and font files on an optical disc; while video and audio are being reproduced from the AV stream information, text subtitle images can be reproduced from the text subtitle stream information and the font files, and the text subtitle images can be overlaid on the video picture (see, for example, Patent Document 1). To reproduce audio and video from the AV stream information, however, it is necessary to read large quantities of information continuously. It is consequently difficult to read video and audio data from a disc and simultaneously read text subtitle stream information from the same disc, because of the relatively low access speed of an optical disc. Therefore, in this type of video reproducing apparatus, before the AV stream information is reproduced, the text subtitle stream information and font files, which are smaller in size than the AV stream information, are pre-read (preloaded) into buffers in the video reproducing apparatus.
The art described in Patent Document 1 enables subtitle image data to be created by use of character code information (text subtitle stream information) and an outline font (font file), making it possible to provide a video reproducing apparatus with which the outlines of letters are not deformed even when viewed on a large screen. Moreover, the font color, the position of the text, and the text style can be changed easily by user operations.
Another type of video reproducing apparatus is known, in which the user determines a subtitle language display priority order in advance by manual operations on an initial setup screen, and the video reproducing apparatus can configure a customized language setting menu according to the priority order (see, for example, Patent Document 2). The art described in this patent document enables the video reproducing apparatus to display a customized language setting menu limited to languages preselected by the user, even if a great many languages are included on the optical disc itself. Selection from a language setting menu generated in this way places less of a language selection burden on the user.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-269595 (pp. 5-8, FIG. 34)    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-525717 (pp. 2-4, FIG. 4)